Halloween Mace
by UnholyHelbig
Summary: Halloween night full of bright lights contrasted by dark shadows. As humans, we do everything we can to stay out of those inky patches of life- but what if the very thing we're hiding from has secrets of its own. This is a collaborative work between myself and many very talented authors.
1. Love Bite

[This story was created originally by Girlsonal on Wattpad]

Shadows danced across the dimly lit sky, waltzing with one another as if entranced with themselves, or the night, or both. No one was sure how they got there or where they came from the shadows, that is. They had always been there, the clouds' eerie residents.

Frost crackled beneath their feet as they walked, hand in hand, watching the stars, the shadows, and the street lamps glare ricocheting from the wet ground. Exteriorly, they looked calm and collected. In reality, however, a fire was burning incandescently in both of their chests, and neither was sure exactly how long they could contain themselves. They had stepped away from the party subtly but deliberately and were heading towards a gathering of dark, looming trees, just to the left of the house in which the party was being held.

Quietly, yet quickly, like a python wrapping itself around an unsuspecting victim's neck, Mamrie pulled Grace underneath the modest canopy of leaves that sheltered them from the rest of the world. She bit down, and the blonde moaned slightly, unsure whether it was agony, arousal or both coursing through her veins.

"Mames," She gasped after a few minutes when her girlfriend was wiping her lips on her sleeve, "Please?"

The older woman nodded distractedly - still floating in her sated, euphoric haze - and pulled down her jumper a little, exposing the porcelain flesh of her neck. She leaned up against a tree and allowed Grace to feast on her blood, just as she had done minutes before, and was gratified when she stepped back, her now plump lips and flushed cheeks mirroring Mamrie's own. Unless they wished to be caught, they had no option but to feed on each other. It had been going on for years, starting accidentally in the middle of a steamy embrace, and neither of them had looked back. After all, the others' blood always filled the void in their veins once their own had been drinking, and if either of them felt weak - although this was an extremely infrequent occurrence - they would buy some steak from the butchers, and sip on the dead animal's blood, even if it didn't taste as nice.

They stood for a while, breathing heavily before Grace grabbed Mamrie's hair and pulled her close. Locking lips almost fiercely, the girls' tongues fought for dominance and they stumbled a little, intertwined, bound together by love and lust and everything in between. Mamrie couldn't remember feeling that amazing before; full, turned on and almost desperate with want, all in one go. She let out an indecent, guttural moan as the blonde slipped one leg in between hers, grinding up against her, and simultaneously kissed all over her jawline, ears and neck, pausing over the tiny bite marks and sucking on the tender spot for a few seconds. Grace began to trail her hands teasingly up and down Mamrie's sides, eventually pulling her sweater up and over her head before unbuttoning her jeans and helping her to discard them somewhere on the damp soil. The hurriedness stops for a second as the taller of the two stops to admire her girlfriend's beauty. Scantily clad in just her underwear, her pale, almost ethereal skin seems luminescent (just as if it had been dipped in sparkling phosphorous) in the darkness, and the black lace bra and panties blended in with their surroundings. Her cinnamon hair cascaded over her half-covered breasts and back, and her hand was half outstretched, fingers reaching for Grace's own. They held hands softly for a second, standing forehead to forehead in the dimness. Then, as if taken hold of and shaken by some invisible, passionate creature, they crashed their lips together once more.

Mamrie tugged at Grace's thin jacket and slipped it over her shoulders seamlessly, before pulling her t-shirt above her head and watching with a small smile as her lover's hair fell loose, like a golden, fluorescent halo around her face. After throwing Grace's jeans to where her own lay, the redhead pulled her a little deeper into the woods to further cover them from any possible passers-by. Then, she began unhooking the younger woman's bra slowly, seductively, sensually. As her girlfriend's breasts became almost-visible in the minuscule glow of the moon, Mamrie admired her rough outline with arousal. She looked promiscuous, lascivious, downright wanton; the light shone ever so slightly in the center of her sex-darkened eyes and her skin was a little paler than usual because of the cold, causing the redness on her chest and cheeks to appear more prominent. It didn't look red, in the light (or lack thereof). More like a mere shadow, only visible to the interested, admiring eye. Shifting awkwardly, Grace smiled wanly - almost shy now - and stepped towards Mamrie, grabbing her by the hips. In a swift movement, she relieved her of her bra, so that they were in an equal state of undress.

"Grace," The older of the two almost-whispered, her voice nearly inaudible as her girlfriend traced her hands over the exposed flesh of her torso and chest, her fingers barely touching the skin under them, "I need you."

"I know."

Somehow, their panties were lost in the muddy earth along with the rest of their clothes, and they were laying underneath a tree, limbs entangled. Grace was on top, grinding down on the woman underneath her, and the still, silent air was filled with their gasps and slight moans. After a minute or so, Grace began to kiss down Mamrie's milky body, tenderly licking, nipping and sucking on sweet spots, from her lips to her inner thigh, until she reached the place where she was needed the most.

As the blonde began to pleasure her lover - using her hand, as well as her tongue, after a while - she felt her hair being tugged and Mamrie's fingernails scratching her back. Grace likes this, and moans, causing her girlfriend to respond loudly at the sensation. After five or ten minutes of thrusting and moaning and hair-pulling, the redhead's body stiffened for a few seconds and she bit her lip, unsuccessfully trying to suppress the noise that left her lips, before relaxing again.

"How was that?" Teasing.

"Fuck you, Helbig." Breathless.

"Yes please." A giggle.

It's Grace's turn this time; her thighs are either side of Mamrie's head and she's moving disjointedly to the rhythm of the older woman's movements, one hand gripping the tree trunk to the left of them for support.

"Fuck, Mames," She moaned loudly, unadulteratedly, "Fuck me."

It had the desired effect; the noise that the older of the two made vibrated through Grace's entire body erotically, causing both of them to move faster and more desperately. Blonde hair, red hair, messy. Golden skin, ghostly skin, burning. Closed eyes, closing eyes, blissful. Parted lips, fucking tongue, orgasmic.

When Grace has finished and they collapse together, sweaty and sated in a muted euphoria, they fed tiredly on one another before, trying to kiss away the bite marks once more. Their emotions became heterogeneously blurred,

interweaved with one another, dancing with the strange shadows in the sky.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

They decided not to go back to the party, but to stay - wrapped up in one another - until twilight, where they strolled, hand in hand again, back to and then past the house, before climbing into their car and driving home, ensuring that they missed the sunrise.


	2. Moonlit

I had underestimated the sharp chill of the night that started to seep through my gloves as I sprinted through the streets, my breath forming in thick puffs in front of me as I slid around the street corner, nearly avoiding the fire hydrant that was coated in a layer of fine powder.

My nose was rubbed raw, a sharp sting filling me as I moved a cotton glove across the base of it, my tears hardening against my cheeks as I pushed forward into the darkest part of the city. The streets were slowly emptying as the time moved on. Cabs were impossible to have, subways took too long. I needed to travel by foot.

My hair fell loose around my face, warming my neck for a split second before falling away as my shoulders moved in synch with my legs. I skidded to a stop, grasping the cold rung of the fire escape. It was so chilling that it burned my palm; I threatened to pull my touch back, but gritted my teeth and pulled myself up rung by rung.

I could still taste the fresh metallic blood on my lips. Still feel the pounding pulse against my jugular as I practically shattered the window to her apartment. It was muffled by the loud air conditioner to my right, not drawing too much attention to myself as I moved my hand up, knocking away the rest of the shards before I hopped into the warm apartment.

"Grace," I whispered as I pulled my gloves from my hand, a thick round of guilt finding its way to me as I heard a silence shattering bang rock through the space. It was coming from the bathroom. "Shit. Not a good idea, Gracie." I growled as I crept towards the door. Pressing my back against the white painted wood as I listened to her heavy breathing.

"Mames," her voice was deep, her chest audibly heaving up and down as I clenched my eyes shut, swallowing roughly. I needed to keep her in check tonight. This was all my fault.

"Yeah, it's me," I told her, trying to figure out a way to approach the situation without getting my throat ripped out. "You okay?"

"That's a dumb question," she snapped, her statement ending in a rumble. "What the fuck did you do to me?"

"I-"my words shook until I cleared my throat "I may have given you something."

"No, Mamrie." I could hear her nails digging into the porcelain sink with long scratches "this isn't a fucking STD, what did you do to me?"

I let out a thick sigh as I felt a sharp burning run up my elbow, clenching my eyes tighter I slid down the door, pulling my knees up to my chest as I rested my chin on my knee "I scratched you." I whispered, knowing full and well she could hear me "I-I didn't mean to, we were in the heat of the moment and not like you didn't enjoy it at the time." I trailed off, hardening my jaw.

I could hear her lower herself to the other side of the door in pain. I knew what she was feeling. The sharp heat, the longing to just let all your resolve go, the anger that flooded your veins for no reason at all.

"Grace you gotta say something," I finally choked out, not knowing how to treat the love of my life, which I just ruined. I had always known what to say to her. I had never hesitated in my words, but now I was at a loss for them.

"What do you want me to say, Mamrie. I'm confused. I'm angry. I'm tired. I'm fucking horny." She grumbled, "I want help." She lowered her voice to a whisper "I need help."

"I'll help you," I started, getting a bit ahead of myself in my tone "you just gotta open the door, Gracie."

She was hesitant. That was more than clear, I was the one who had done this to her. I wouldn't trust me after this either. I was hoping that after our sexual encounter and my slip up, it wouldn't transfer to her. I was hoping it didn't work like that... but when she called me an hour ago in hysterics, I knew what I had was just that... only hope.

The lock was flipped, drawing me from my thoughts as I pulled myself away from the door and got to my feet, embracing myself. Evidently, so was Grace. She let out a shaky sigh before pulling back on her bathroom door with a small creak.

The bathroom was kept just as dark as the rest of the apartment, but that didn't matter much to me. All the lights could be on and I would still be able to see as clear as day. I knew Grace could now too. I knew she was scared. I could sense it in her. It makes my hair stand up on end- being this close to another powerful force.

She let out a shuttered breath as she moved the door from her person completely, keeping her glowing gaze away from mine as I swallowed again, mentally cursing myself for inducing so much shame. So much pain and fear upon Grace.

She looked stronger. Her shoulders were broader; her legs seeming to get even longer if that were possible. Her straw colored hair fell into her now luminescent eyes, the pale blue glow from them shining slightly in the mirror to the side of us. I could smell the blood that was dripping upon the carpet. Her nails were embedded deep within the flesh of her palms.

"How long does this last?" She asked, her words were muffled by her canine teeth. I could tell her jaws were throbbing. Mine was something fierce. "This whole pain thing."

"awhile," I couldn't lie to her "but the good news is you only have to do this once a month. Just like in folklore." I trailed off.

"Folklore," she scoffed "I don't' think that term has any meaning to me anymore."


	3. Lucifer

[The Original Onshot is by Hartbigfordays, super talented!]

"No! Sarah, she looks scary! I don't wanna talk to her," Grace grabs hold of the blonde's arm.

"Grace, we have to. She's the one who sells the tickets." She laughs and drags Grace over to the ticket counter.

The redhead working the counter looks devilish. She has fiery red hair and she's dressed in all black. She has red contacts in her eyes that scare the living shit out of Grace when the redhead looks up at her. The woman smiles creepily at Grace.

"Can we get two tickets for the ten o'clock hayride, please?" Sarah smiles and hands over the cash.

"Ah, good choice. I'll be on that hayride. It'll be...fun." The woman grins and gives Sarah her change.

Grace is trying to distance herself from the woman by hiding behind Sarah and avoiding eye contact. The woman is extremely attractive but also scary at the same time.

"What's wrong, sweetie? Scared?" The woman peers around Sarah's shoulder, looking to Grace.

"Oh uh no. Of course not." Grace pauses, "Okay Sarah let's go. Don't wanna take up this nice lady's time."

The redhead chuckles at this as the two walk away.

"That's Lucifer to you!" She shouts at them.

They still have thirty minutes so the two decide to sit on the ground and huddle up to keep warm.

"I hate you."

"Oh shut up! It'll be fun. Besides, that devil chick is hot, yeah? She'll be on the hayride." Sarah raises her eyebrows suggestively at Grace.

"It will not be fun! She's scary as hell!"

"Literally."

"Oh fuck you and your puns."

"You're the one who said it!"

"Whatever."

Grace crosses her arms and pouts.

"Seriously Grace? It's gonna be like a twenty-minute hayride! It'll be fine! I'll be right next to you the whole time." Sarah assures her friend.

"Okay but what if that devil girl targets me. She clearly knows I'm scared."

"Be glad if she targets you. Like I said, she's hot. I'd let her do anything to me."

"Sarah!"

"Oh come on! Don't act like you don't agree!" Sarah nudges Grace.

Grace smirks and doesn't say a word.

It's five minutes to ten and the woman dressed as a devil walks up to the shivering girls.

"Ready for some fun, ladies?" She smirks as she walks toward the hayride.

Grace groans as Sarah stands up eagerly and holds out her hands to help Grace up.

"Grace chill. I'll be right next to you the entire time." Sarah soothes.

The woman must have overheard because she turns around to them.

"Yeah don't worry. Your girlfriend's got you, sweetie." She says sarcastically.

"Oh uh no. Not my girlfriend." Grace blushes.

The redhead raises her brows and hums as she turns back around and climbs onto the hayride.

Despite the fact that Sarah and Grace sit directly next to each other, Grace keeps inching closer and closer to her friend.

"Gracie, you can't get much closer to me."

"Watch me," Grace says as she presses up against Sarah even more and loops her arm around Sarah's.

Sarah just laughs at her friend.

Grace is not embarrassed by how afraid she is. I mean, it's a haunted hayride for Christ's sake! Anything could happen! Although, she is a grown woman and she should believe everyone when they tell her that she'll be fine and that the workers are not allowed to touch her...okay maybe she is a bit embarrassed. But not enough to stop complaining.

They wait for another five minutes so that more and more people can pile on the ride. There are kids as young as sixteen on this hayride and if they can do it, Grace can do it! Right? No, probably not. She's accepted the fact that she'll probably die on this hayride. Looking on the bright side, she thinks, death by hot demon woman isn't the worst way to die, right? As Sarah said before, she'd let Mrs. Devil do anything to her.

Speaking of, the redheaded woman is currently standing in front of the hayride near the driver. She claps her hands together to grab the attention of the twenty-ish people sitting on blocks of hay before her. All eyes are glued to her as the crowd goes silent.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please remember to keep your hands and feet inside the ride or else they'll probably get chopped off by your worst nightmare." The devil grins.

"Also please remember to remain silent. No screaming. No talking. Or else you'll wake up the clowns," She pauses. "And you don't wanna know what happens when the clowns wake up."

Grace grabs Sarah's knee forcefully.

"Clowns?! There are clowns in this?" Grace's eyes are wide.

Sarah pats the blondes hand with her own and smirks.

"You'll be okay, Gracie."

Will she though? Will she be okay? Because Grace is surely aware of the clown phenomenon that's been happening all across the United States. What if the real clowns are here and what if they actually kill them? Fuck. She's totally dead.

Grace clenches her jaw and stares into the darkness, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, she hears chainsaws in the distance. She looks ahead to where the noise is coming from but she can't see anything since the only lights are the rides' headlights.

Within seconds, she hears a smash sound coming from right in front of her. People with masks on, carrying chainsaws bumped into the hayride. And oh gosh, now they're stepping onto it. Grace tries to act unafraid so that they wouldn't target her and it works. Instead, they target a girl a few seats over. The girl is screaming and the devil woman looks behind her at the terrified teenager and smirks.

Many other scary people jump onto the hayride and Grace continues to try and keep her cool but she can't suppress some screams now and then. Each time she screams, Lucifer looks back at her and smirks. She acts annoyed but she doesn't mind the attention the redhead keeps giving her. She's not sure if anything is even scary anymore when she screams, maybe it's just that she wants to see her face again. She can't tell what color her eyes are because she has red contacts in but she imagines them to be a pretty blue or green. She wants to find out. A loud noise interrupts her thoughts as she looks to her right and sees Sarah speaking to Lucifer. The ride has stopped in the middle of nowhere and everyone is looking around for an explanation.

"Sarah! What's going on?"

"The Devil just told me that the hayride broke down, I guess."

"What do you mean it broke down? We're in the middle of nowhere! What did she say we're gonna do?" Grace says in panic.

Everyone on the hayride hears Grace say this to Sarah which causes them to erupt with panic.

"Jesus, Grace. No need to scream." Sarah says, rolling her eyes.

Grace is about to answer when she hears a raspy voice interrupt her.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, there's no reason to panic. We are going to take a brief break to figure out what's going on." Lucifer says.

Of course Grace is panicking. They're in the middle of nowhere while it's pitch black outside and since the ride broke down, there's no lights.

"Uh I really have to pee."

"Well too bad, Sarah, we're gonna be here for awhile."

"No like I'm gonna pee my pants if I don't go soon," Sarah says.

Lucifer overhears their conversation.

"You can get off the ride and go in the woods if you want. All of our workers were notified of the technical difficulties so they're no longer out there."

"Ah, perfect! Thanks." Sarah starts to stand up but Grace grabs her hand.

"Are you insane? You're going into the dark woods?"

"It'll be fine. I'll be back within minutes," Sarah assures her.

Lucifer grabs something from behind her and hands it to Sarah.

"Here's a flashlight. Grace is right, it's dark in there," The redhead smiles.

With that, Sarah steps off the hayride and makes her way into the woods. Grace watches her friend disappear into the darkness. All of a sudden she hears a scream. It's coming from Lucifer.

"Oh my god! Everyone off the ride!"

Grace tries to figure out why Lucifer is freaking out so she follows the redheads gaze towards the back off the ride. Fire. The ride is on fire. Grace immediately stands up. Everyone is already off and the redheaded woman shouts her name and puts her arm around her waist to help her off the ride. Once they're off the ride, everyone starts screaming. Grace's head shoots up to see clowns with knives coming toward them. She looks to the Devil who looks terrified. Lucifer grabs her hand and runs.

"What is happening?" Grace yells after a few moments of running away.

"I have no idea! Those clowns are not our workers!"

Grace knew it. She knew something like this would happen.

Lucifer leads Grace into a small cave in the woods.

"This should be safe for now. I'm Mamrie, by the way. Do you have your phone with you?"

Grace nods and takes it out.

"Fuck. No service."

Mamrie groans.

"Oh my god. Sarah is still out there!" Grace begins to panic again.

"I'm sure your girlfriend is fine, sweetie." Mamrie rolls her eyes.

"Hey! I told you, she's not my girlfriend!"

Mamrie scoffs and sits back against a rock.

"Besides, why are you even saying that when there are killer clowns on the loose?!" Grace raises her voice.

"Hey, will you shut up? They'll hear you." Mamrie pauses, "Listen, I have pepper spray, a taser, and a pocket knife. We'll be fine."

"Okay but what about the others? What about Sarah?" Grace whispers.

"I'm sure the driver took them somewhere safe. As for Sarah, I bet she heard our screams and followed that crowd."

Grace sighs and turns her back to the redhead.

"What? Are you angry with me, sweetie?"

"Will you stop calling me that? You're saying it in a bitchy way."

"Oh really? I didn't know." Mamrie says sarcastically, "I am the Devil, after all."

Grace remains silent as she internally panics. She really needs Sarah to be okay. She wishes she could just call her but of course she can't. They're in the middle of the woods.

"So," Mamrie interrupts the silence, "you and Sarah aren't dating?"

Grace turns around to face her and scrunches her face up.

"Why do you keep saying that? You interested or something?"

"Yeah, a little," Mamrie admits.

"Well she's currently lost so if we find her maybe you can ask her out on a-"

A familiar voice interrupts her.

"Grace?"

Grace stands up immediately. She knows that voice. It's Sarah's. She peers out of the cave, Mamrie following her.

"Sarah!"

She sees Sarah walking toward her. Grace runs up to her and sees that there's blood all over her friend. The blood is coming from a gash in Sarah's arm.

"Oh my god! Are you okay? What happened?" Grace asks frantically.

She hears laughter coming from behind her so she turns and sees that Mamrie is the one laughing.

"What the hell, Mamrie?! This isn't funny! She was attacked for Christ's sake!"

Sarah begins to laugh too and Grace turns her head to the blonde.

"What's going on?" Grace asks, confused.

The two women start to laugh even harder which makes Grace angry.

"Sarah, what the fuck is happening?"

"This," Sarah pauses to catch her breath, "this is fake blood."

"It's a joke, sweetie." Mamrie smirks.

"You guys set this up?"

"Yeah, I talked to Mamrie right before the fire erupted. She wanted to play a joke on you," Sarah giggles.

"The fire was fake?" Grace asks.

"The fire is part of the ride. We do it every hayride." Mamrie explains.

"And the clowns were part of it too?"

Mamrie nods in response.

"Okay so let me get this straight." Grace turns to Sarah, "You didn't actually have to go to the bathroom?"

"Nope." Sarah answers.

"So why did you want to play this prank on me?" Grace turns to Mamrie.

Mamrie just shrugs so Sarah answers for her.

"She wanted alone time with you," Sarah smirks.

Grace stays silent for a second to think.

"Okay...but why?"

"Jesus Grace, isn't it obvious?" Sarah puts her hands on her hips.

Grace stares at her blankly.

"She likes you!" Sarah says.

Grace turns to Mamrie.

"Really?"

"I mean duh. You're super cute," Mamrie blushes, "I wanted to see if I could ask you out but then Sarah here had to interrupt our conversation!"

"Oh shut up! You took too long!" Sarah laughs.

Grace smiles. She's so glad Sarah is okay and she's so glad this was all a joke. She turns to Mamrie and smirks.

"You know you could have just asked me without scaring the shit out of me, right?"

"I could have but I didn't want to. That would've been boring! Besides, you're cute when you're scared." Mamrie grins.

"Well I would love to go out on a date with you." Grace pauses, "Unless it's at a haunted house because in that case, I'm not going!"

They all laugh and begin to walk back.

"Let's hope you don't get fired for leaving the group." Sarah says to Mamrie.

"Eh. No big deal if I do." Mamrie shrugs.

"Worth it?" Grace asks.

"Definitely." She winks.


	4. Killer Party

[This is an original story by beingmadattheworld on wattpad]

I walk outside to take a breath, a little break from the Halloween party I'm at. I close the door behind me as I walk out. I look for a spot to sit as I walk on the path in the garden.

I spot a stone next to the lake. I walk up to it, adjust my costume a little before I sit down. I take a deep breath and sigh. It's nice out, not too cold and not too warm for a day in October. I can feel myself relax a little bit as I listen to the wind blowing through the trees and over the water.

A black cat runs past at it scares me for a minute. With my heart beating in my throat I take a deep breath.

"Stupid cat." I yell at the cat that has already disappeared into another garden.

I hear the door open behind me and I know I'm not alone in the garden anymore. "Grace? Grace where are you?"

It's Mamrie just the person I didn't want to see in this stage. I take one more big breath before I answer Mamrie. "I'm sitting next to the lake."

I hear her walk closer over the stone path. My stomach is all tied up, my thoughts are racing and my heart is beating in my throat again. Mamrie places her hand on my shoulder suddenly and I jump into the air. I'm jumpy today.

"Sorry Grace. Didn't want to scare you?" Mamrie sits down next to me.

I turn to look at her. "Its fine. I'm just jumpy today." We smile at each other. "Did you need some air too?"

"Yeah but I was mainly looking for you. Somebody said you went outside alone and I got scared something would happen to you."

I look at her confused and pick on the hem of my costume. "Why would something happen to me? I was alone in the garden before you joined me."

"Grace! There's a killer on the loose in the neighborhood."

My eyes fly open. "A killer! Let's go back inside."

I take Mamrie's hand and stand up from the stone we are sitting on. Mamrie stands up too. She's still holding my hand when we start walking back to the house.

Every sound I hear scares me at the moment but the thought that Mamrie is still holding my hand calms me down a little bit. We arrive at the backdoor, Mamrie pulls it open and it does not give.

"The door is locked." Mamrie knocks on the door but nobody moves inside. "Let's walk around to the front door."

Mamrie takes my hand again. We walk to the left so we can walk around the house and go inside at the front door. My thoughts are still racing. It's making me more paranoid than normal. "Mamrie I'm scared."

Mamrie grips my hand a little tighter. "Don't worry. We'll be fine." She raise our hands to her mouth and kisses mine. "Everything is going to be fine Gracie."

We arrive at the front door and it's closed too. We walk up and ring the bell. No answer so Mamrie walks to the window and looks inside. She looks shocked when she looks back at me.

"Grace we need to go now."

"Why? What happened?"

The front door opens behind us. A hooded person with a mask and a dripping and bloody axe stands in the doorway. It looks at us.

"GRACE! RUN! NOW!" Mamrie pulls me with her as we run down the street.

The killer runs behind us and is yelling at us. Mamrie lets go of my hand as we run. I run for my life happy that I was once a track star.

Mamrie is starting to get further behind. I keep looking behind to check were she is and the killer is getting closer. "Grace wait for me."

"MAMRIE! LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!"

I can hear a lot of sounds behind me and Mamrie starts screaming. "Grace help me." I stop running and I look back.

The killer is on top of Mamrie and she is screaming her lungs out. "GRACE! GRACE HELP ME." I turn around and run back stopping just before I reach them. I take a deep breath. Let's do this. I jump on the killers back and start punishing the killers head but nothing happens. I fall on the ground. The killer stands up and looks between Mamrie and me.

"Please let us live." I cry. "I don't want to die yet." Tears start to stream down my face because I know I'm dying tonight. All of a sudden I hear giggling and later laughing. Why do I hear laughing. I open my eyes and the killer is gone, I'm still on the ground.

I stare at the starts in the sky and nothing seems to happen. Until Mamrie comes into my view. "Grace? Are you okay?" I sit up to look at Mamrie.

"What just happened?"

"Uhm we kinda pranked you." The killer walks up too and pulls his mask off his face, Hannah has joined us.

"Hi Grace." I can't keep my smile in anymore and start laughing. "Are you okay Grace?"

My smile grows even bigger and I nod. "I'm okay. I just didn't expect this. Thanks for the scare ladies." I jump up and run into Mamrie's arms.

I slam myself into Mamrie and kiss her hard. She does not do anything at first but relaxes into it later. I stop and pull back from Mamrie to look at her.

"I'm sorry."

"No need I liked it."


	5. Alright, Casper

The bitter cold mixed with the humidity that flowed in through the window in an almost harmonious way. The two drastic temperatures mixed, the light warm breeze pressing roughly against the frigid air that resided in the dimly lit room.

It seemed almost silent- not a sound raising from the street. The rhythmic noise of my pulse pressing against my rib cage kept me on edge, sweat forming on my nearly bare collarbone. I raised my shaking fingers to the condensation that built upon my skin, wiping away the droplets that began to form with one fluid motion.

I wasn't exactly sure how long I had been asleep, or what had woken me up; either way, I was more aware of the thick knot in my stomach than ever. No matter how long I sat in the deafening silence, it wouldn't untie itself.

My mouth was dry, overwhelmingly so. I was sure that whatever had stirred me was pure dream state. I was always the type to get nightmares, tonight shouldn't feel any different, but it did in an odd way. Regardless I willed it in myself to get up, chills rushing through me as the souls of my feet hit the floor. I was regretting not wearing pants to bed at this point, pulling the sleeves of the button down nightshirt that coated my skin.

The dimly lit living room was carried the same eerie silence that my bedroom did, a dull blue glow from the moon shaded most of the furniture. The almost peaceful setting was disrupted by a flow of fluorescent yellowed light.

Fuck, did I leave the fridge open again? The thought rushed through me as I raised my palm to my neck, shaking my head. No. I couldn't have. It made an annoying beeping sound if it was left open for more than a few minutes at a time. That would have drove me mad by now.

I stiffened as a soft noise came from the kitchen, like dishes rattling around. God, one thing I knew for a fact was that I lived alone. My hand felt around for something, anything to defend myself to whoever was in my house.

My palm found a large can of something, liquid sloshing around as the cold metal found a place in my palm. I didn't exactly know what it was, but at this point I didn't care. It was heavy enough to be thrown around in case I needed it.

The pounding in my chest seemed to grow louder as I stepped closer to the kitchen, the knot in my stomach growing at the same speed. I kept silent, holding my breath until it got to the point of burning. None of that mattered though, I had to stay calm and collected, my jaw clenching as I rounded the corner.

A flash of blonde hair threw me off, my mind rationalizing some big and burley intruder. Instead, it looked like a girl- one that seemed to be my age. She seemed tall, but was squatted halfway into the fridge, not noticing me yet, or even caring that she had broken into someone's home.

I swallowed softly, making the figure freeze. How the hell could she have heard that?

My hands clenched the can I was holding harder, enough for my knuckles to turn a sharp white. The girl slowly stood up, not facing me yet. I was right... She was tall, 5'9 at least. I threatened to take a step back as she slowly turned around, her hand still holding onto the handle of the fridge.

She jumped back, almost startled as her back hit the edge of the fridge, the whole appliance shaking slightly. I watched with curiosity as she seemed to startled by the noise she had created. My hand continued to hold the can, my wrist beginning to strain under the pressure.

"Who are you?" I croaked out, barely able to speak, my hands shaking.

The girl wasn't short of angelic, her skin smooth and pale, a red painted lip standing out against the rest of her subtle features. Her hair looked disheveled, a long line of sharp crimson painting the side of her cheek. It seemed to drip from her hairline, moving to the base of her collarbone. A torn leather jacket was hugging her figure, a muddied white

"Oh," her voice was soft, golden eyes widening in primal fear. She held a jar of something, pickles, or artichoke hearts. I wasn't quite sure what I had in my fridge at this point. She kept a firm hand on it, hair falling into her gaze.

I was shaking, the chill in the room pressing against every aspect of my body. My jaw was clenched, a pain forming as I held the can in my palm. The girl seemed to be awkward in herself- uncomfortable with my stare trained on her.

"Who are you?" I repeated, feeling as though I may have an upperhand. She looked scared, a bit unhinged, but more scared than anything. "What are you doing in my house?" my voice shook despite itself.

"Uh, I-" the jar slipped from her fingers, crashing to the floor as a million shards ran across the hardwood floor- the green juices finding it's way through a maze of broken glass. Yeah, definitely pickles. "Oh! Oh my god, I am so sorry!"

I cocked my head to the side, lowering my raised hand an inch or two. It made my arm stop aching. God, this girl was adorable- had she refrained from breaking into my house, I would ask her on a date.

"I haven't gotten the hang of that yet." She mumbled, her words tangled up as she stared at her booted feet.

I swallowed, my mouth dry "You didn't just break into my house to raid the fridge, did you?" I asked, setting the can down on the nearby table. I wasn't quite sure if lavender scented Febreeze would help me out much anyway.

"No, I didn't-" She said meekly "I uh, my name is Grace."

"Grace?" I cocked an eyebrow, wondering if I would have to remember exact details while giving my statements. I was shocked as she stuck a hand out to me, a small smile moving across her lips. I eyed it for a second.

My fingertips went to meet hers, but instead I was struck by a sharp blast of cold air- cooler than the room around me. It made involuntary chills wrack through my body as my hand swiped at the empty space.

"Oh my god!" I jumped back, air hitching in my throat. The girl seemed to jump back just as quickly, almost like a snake- more afraid of me than I was of her. But this wasn't a pissing contest, at this point both of us were shaking.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!"She raked her finger through her hair, mumbling now "Well I kinda did, but I don't really know how. God, I'm going to get my throat ripped out for this. Not that it would matter, I mean, I'm already dead-"

She continued to ramble, her voice quivering as she shook her head. She looked nervous, the adrenaline in my veins continuing to push my heart soundly against my ribs. I took a breath "How can I see you, Grace?"

She shrugged, taking a moment to catch her own breath. "I don't really know. I haven't been dead very long. I mean, they gave me this handbook and stuff, but I thought it was like the whole terms and conditions thing."

"Yeah," I shook my head "No one reads those."

"Exactly... I guess they figured I had the time." She threw her hands up in the air. "I don't know how to do any of this. I've never even seen a plausible horror movie... Unless casper counts"

I clenched my jaw, letting out a small sigh, my body still reeling with adrenaline. She was jumpy, even jumpier than I was. "I-I have."

She cocked an eyebrow, lifting her chin up slightly.

"And no, Casper does not count."

Grace swallowed, a small smile forming on her lips "What's the first step then? To haunting?"

"I don't know" I looked her up and down "You definitely have the loss in temperature going for you. You seemed to have opened my fridge pretty well, so maybe try that with some doors and rattle some windows."

I crossed my arms over my chest nervously "I mean... you could practice here as long as you'd like. Maybe get some of that reading done."

Grace face lit up, a wide smile tracing her lips as her eyes crinkled in the corners "Really? You mean it?"

A chuckle moved past my lips as I nodded "yeah, but we're watching the ring before anything else, deal?"

She nodded, "Deal."


	6. Timeless

[This is another story by the amazing Beingmadattheworld]

I'm walking alone through a deep dark town. Sounds everywhere and I'm not very happy at the moment. My relationship is just over, my friends seem to ignore me and I got in a fight with my mother.

I look around before I walk into a badly lit ally. I start to run when I keep hearing sounds behind me. I keep looking back to see if somebody is following me. I'm not paying attention to what is in front of me and when I turn back I run against the wall in front of me.

I'm knocked out immediately.

 **Everything is blurry** and my head is throbbing when I wake up. The ground doesn't seem as cold and hard as it should be. I open my eyes and expect to see the sky but I do not. I'm inside so I sit up to take a better look of my s.

The space is big and light. There are no curtains in front of the windows and the sun shines into the five windows. It's warm in the room but I'm still shivering. A blond girl walks into the room. She's dressed in a black dress, black boots and a cape. The cape is falling over her head so I can't see her face.

The girl looks up at me when she gets closer. Her smile is bright and lights up the room even more. "Hi you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"My head is throbbing and everything is still a little blurry. Thank you for taking my our of the cold and inside." I look at my hands and start fiddling my fingers. "Was I out all night?"

"Yeah mostly. You were awake a couple times but you weren't really coherent so I just let you sleep it off for a little while longer." The girl turns around and walks away. "I'll be right back. Make yourself at home."

I move to the edge of the bed, I test my legs before I stand up. I'm a little dizzy at first but it clears up quickly. I walk to the area that looks like the kitchen. Walking past a couple cabinets I stop in front of the fridge. I reach for the handle and open it.

There are glass bottles in the fridge. I pick one up and it's filled with some sort of red juice. I pull of the cap to smell it. The bottle slips out of my hands and splashes on the ground. The girl runs into the room and takes my hand.

All of a sudden I'm back on the bed. The girl is standing in front of me and she's still holding my arm. I pull it back quickly. "Why is there blood in the fridge and how did you do that?"

The girl looks at me. "I think that you know very well what this means and you don't seem to be freaking out about it. Which is a great thing if you ask me? Saves me a lot of work."

"But vampires are not real! This is a dream." I start pinching myself and I slap my cheek. When I open my eyes again the girl is still there. "I don't know what I should thing about this?" I know that I look horrified but I do not have an urge to run away.

"My name is Grace. I've been living on this planet for about a hundred year. I was turned at 18 years old and became a full-time traveler not long after I was turned." She raises her head. "I wanted to use my new power for something good and I've be helping people all over the world for about 80 years."

My heart is racing but I don't feel scared of her. She seems really nice. "I'm Mamrie." I whisper.

"Nice to meet you Mamrie. Do you want something to eat?"

I nod my head slowly. "Yes thank you."

"I'll be right back." Grace leaves the room and comes back with a full plate of food seconds later. "Here you go."

I take the plate from her, I pick up one of the pieces of bread and start eating slowly. "I'm confused. I should be scared of you but I'm not."

"I can hear your heart racing so if you're not scared something else is happening."

I turn to look Grace in the eyes and she does the same thing at the exact same time. She stare in each other's eyes for a while before we both start to bend forward. My lips touch her tender lips softly. It's a sweet kiss.

I pull back and look at Grace and I smile at her. "I think that I know what's happening to me."

She smiles her sweet smile back at me and winks. "I think that I know too."


	7. Haunted House

[This is an amazing one-shot by the very talented _youtuber_fangirl_ go check out her profile!]

"Grace?" Mamrie called timidly, her voice echoing through the empty halls of what was suppose to look like a abandoned hospital but looked more like a broken set of Greys anatomy, her girlfriend giggled from in the dark.

"I don't like this" Mamrie whined, not remembering how they'd got here, or how in hells reincarnation she'd let Grace force her to a haunted house. But then she remembered lips on her throat and hands wandering under her shirt and- yep that's how she ended up here.

She grumbles something under her breath before screaming at the man running by her with a mask and a sledge hammer. Running out the room as fast as her legs can carry her, straight into Grace's arms. She pulls back from Grace, the girl heaving with laughter. "It's not funny you jackass!" Mamrie pouted, making grace stop giggling to wipe her eyes to wrap Mamrie in a backwards hug.

"I'm sorry Mames" grace said, trying to be sincere. but it wasn't very realistic when she started laughing two seconds later.

The ginger sighed as they got to the car "you're lucky you're cute" she grumbled at the girl, before letting a grin take over her face.

Grace raised an eyebrow at Mamrie's face, mouthing what? Only getting a smirk in return "We're going shopping" they drove to Walmart to the beat of Taylor swift songs, singing at the top of their lungs and trying not to hit little kids dressed in Halloween costumes. Mamrie criticizing every outfit.

"-look at that girl, I mean bitch you're only eight and already wearing slutty clothes" she rolled her eyes,

"I'd never dress our kid like that" graces head shot up as Mamrie continued mumbling, stopping the girl mid rant.

"Our kid?" Mamrie flushed, falling silent. "I-I mean" Mamrie stuttered, Grace smiled genuinely.

"Our kid would definitely be dressed as superman or, like, the hulk"

Mamrie's face softened. "But what if they're a girl"

"a girl could be the hulk!" Grace argued, earning a soft laugh from Mamrie.

"I suppose" the rest of the night was spent arguing about what their son/daughter would be liked eating Halloween candy and watching scary movies until they fell asleep on graces couch.


	8. Lust

I kept my lips low, the overwhelming scent of musk pressing against my lungs in an almost vapid way. It rushed against my own throat as I nipped lightly at another's, ignoring the small breath the man let out under my touch. He was calm, almost entranced by my fingers trailing down his jawline.

he seemed to let out a guttural response, buckling under my caress as I breathed out myself, letting my hot breath push against his collarbone as I finally spoke through the haze of alcohol that rushed through my veins.

"This might pinch a little." He smelled primal, a mix of fear and adrenaline making my chest tighten as I spoke. He nodded, too involved in running his fingers across my back to care. I pressed my lips against the naive of his neck tenderly, tasting the sweet mix of sweat and spilled liquor that was sure to dribble down his chin at some point during the night.

"Oh," he said, barely shocked as I sunk my teeth quickly into one of his smaller veins. He tasted just like he smelled- masculine. I never really enjoyed the taste much, the metallic liquid quick to relinquish the sharp burning that rushed across my throat every once in a while. I let him run his hands down to my hips, resting the gently there until I pulled away a few seconds later- feeling a bit of scarlet liquid play at the corner of my lip.

He snapped out of his haze just as quickly as he entered it, giving me a small glance as I wiped my thumb along the seam of my mouth, taking away an residue that remained. He fished in his pocket for a cloth, pressing the copper fabric to his wound as he leaned against the brick wall.

"Thanks for that," he said, almost breathlessly. I cocked my head to the side, knowing that he probably enjoyed receiving just as much as he did giving.

"Hm," I ran my tongue against my teeth, feeling my canines retract. It used to hurt, but now it was almost as if easing a pain- one that pressed relentlessly at my jaw every time a nasty craving decided to kick in. "How much?"

"Fifty."

"Fifty?" I scoffed, shaking my head "You're joking right?"

I stared into his slate grey eyes, ones that were hidden by a shaggy mop of straw locks. He pushed them back with a shaky hand, still feeling the effect of the little joy ride I just gave him. he was dressed in some randomly branded t-shirt. It covered up his work clothes, ones I didn't really want to put the effort into reading. He reeked of beer, the allure of fresh blood suddenly washing away from me.

"How about Twenty, and she'll agree not to rip your head off." a new voice made me tense, the man pressing himself against the brick wall that rested among the now nearly abandoned street. It was late, almost 3 am. The bar had closed about an hour ago, only a few stragglers left wondering the street.

I stepped back, letting out a sigh as I reached into my own back pocket, pulling out a fifty anyway. I shoved it into the boys hand, lifting my chin as he darted away with no time to spare, his shoes tapping against the nearly wet pavement, taking his weed laced scent with him.

"Why do you subject yourself to this, huh?" she stepped closer, her boots tapping against the pavement as I glanced down at my own shoes, suddenly very aware of the heat that rose to my cheeks.

"Sometimes it's easier this way." I told her simply, finally looking up as she was mere inches away from me- her lavender taking over most of my senses. She was taller than I remembered, her hair died darker, pale skin pushing against the midnight color .

"Since when is the extraordinary Grace Helbig one to settle for easy."

"I settled for you, didn't I?" I smirked at her, earning a critical eyebrow raise.

She cocked her head to the side, her breath hot on my collarbone as she squinted her eyes. Her cold hand cupped around my ear, palm soft as I threatened to flinch away from her touch. The girls thumb pressed against the edge of my lip, smearing away whatever seemed to be left o my last meal.

"he smells disgusting." She almost scoffed "I thought I taught you better than to go after some back ally drug addict."

"You did." I shoved her hand away, my palm touching against warm leather as she bit her painted lip carefully. "But in a small town like this, one has be careful. You taught me that too."

"Ah," she chuckled "you're right, I taught you much."

Her heels began to click against the pavement as she looked me up and down, taking in the dark pea coat and grey shirt I chose to wear. My breathe caught in my throat despite myself. "I suppose hunting prey like that makes it easier not to bled thirst and lust."

Her hand touched under my chin again as she rounded back to face me, her touch soft and stern at the same time.

"Mamrie" I warned in a whisper, not quite over the electric feel of the blood in my system. My gums ached, teeth pushing into my lower lip as I clenched my jaw, letting out a tight sigh.

"Lust is a funny thing, isn't it?" She cocked a brow "humans seem to use it to describe it as an intense sexual desire towards another. But we associate it so simply with hunger."

I swallowed roughly, averting my eyes as her fingers traced my jaw. "Why are you back, Mamrie?"

She moved her palm away, shoving her chilled hands in her pocket as she swallowed "to check on you, of course."

"really? You were so quick to leave, I didn't think you cared."

"Don't," Mamrie snarled as I rubbed my bottom jaw, trying to forget her touch. "You know I didn't have much of a choice."

"Turn her, then teach her." I mumbled, knowing she could hear me "That's how it usually works."

Mamrie shook her head "That's where you're wrong, Grace. I never meant to turn you into this."

I nodded, knowing that what she said was true. Mamrie may have given me a bite that was incurable, but she didn't turn me into what I was today. I did.


	9. Psychic

[This amazing story is by Hartbigfordays!]

Mamrie is afraid. She's never been to a psychic before. She's purposely stayed away from them because she never had the desire to know her future. It didn't appeal to her. Why would she want to know what's going to happen in the future? It ruins the surprise. It would defeat the purpose of living life, right? Nonetheless, she's going today because she's reached a point in her life where she thinks she'll die alone. She got out of a long-term relationship just over a year ago and she hasn't been able to put herself out there ever since. She wants to know if she'll ever find love again. People say it's possible to fall in love more than once but she's beginning to think that it's all a lie. The purpose of going is for the psychic to tell her that she will indeed fall in love again and to not worry, but what if the psychic says the opposite? What if she tells her that she will be forever alone? She's willing to take that chance. The worst that could happen is that the psychic confirms her worries.

Making her way to the door of the shop, she laughs at herself. These people aren't really legit, are they? There are lots of fakes but she did research on this particular one. Reviews stated that Madame Helbig is, in fact, real. People claim that everything she said came true. She's a bit skeptical but she'll have to see for herself.

She pulls open the door and there stands a tall blonde woman looking at her. She's absolutely beautiful. Damn.

"Welcome! You can call me Grace."

"Nice to meet you. I'm-"

"Mamrie." Grace cuts her off.

"How did you-" Mamrie pauses and looks at Grace.

"Well. I'm a psychic medium so..." The blonde laughs.

Mamrie blushes from embarrassment. All of her skepticism floats away from her. How would this woman know her name if she wasn't legit?

"Also, I know you. I could tell before you walked through the door that we had a connection." Grace smiles, pointing to the couch, "Please, sit."

Mamrie does as she's told and sits at the edge of the black couch while Grace sits across from her in a chair. She looks around and notices that this is not at all what she expected. The place is homey. It looks like an ordinary living room with ordinary decor. There's no crystal ball. Grace is not wearing any crazy clothing. It calms her a bit, to think that this is a normal environment.

"Do you want anything to drink before we get started?"

"No, I'm alright. Thank you, though." Mamrie smiles.

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything," Grace says as she picks up her notebook and pen.

Mamrie nods and tries to relax.

"So I know you're nervous. That's normal. But there's no reason to be. I will not tell you anything you do not want to hear," Grace pauses and looks up at Mamrie who is sitting back in the couch now.

"Okay so I need you to grab my left hand and I will write in this notebook as I see things with my other hand."

Mamrie slowly reaches out her hand to Grace's. When her fingertips touch the blonde's, a shock erupts between them. She immediately pulls back and furrows her brows.

"Oh wow. Okay," Grace begins to write something on the blank paper.

"What? Does that mean something?" Mamrie asks.

"Yes," Grace says simply. She does not want to elaborate quite yet.

"Here, try again. It shouldn't happen again," Grace reaches out her hand again.

Mamrie is more hesitant this time but she does as she's told.

There's no shock this time but Grace's hands are incredibly cold.

Grace closes her eyes for a minute and then writes something down. She begins to giggle as she looks up at the redhead.

"Before I say anything else, you will fall in love again."

Mamrie sighs of relief, she's so glad that she was wrong about dying alone.

"However," Grace pauses, "it will be unexpected. This person has qualities that you never thought you'd fall in love with but you will and it'll be beautiful."

Mamrie wants to say something but she doesn't know if she's allowed to speak.

"Yes you're allowed to say anything you want." Grace says.

Mamrie is surprised even though she knows this woman can tell what she's thinking.

"Oh um," Mamrie pauses to collect her thoughts, "do I currently know this person?"

"Vaguely," Grace smiles. "You are aware of who they are but you are not close with them yet."

Mamrie nods and tries to think of who it could be. Maybe a friend of a friend?

"No. Your friends don't know them." Grace says, "You met them on your own."

It's creepy how this woman can just read her mind immediately, but Mamrie is intrigued by it. Grace shuts her eyes again and rubs the back of Mamrie's hand with her thumb; goosebumps erupt all over Mamrie's body at this action. Grace senses this and opens one eye to look down at Mamrie's hand. She smirks and shuts her eye.

"Oh damn." Grace mumbles as she writes down a word messily: marriage.

She opens her eyes and looks at Mamrie with kind eyes.

"You don't want to get married." Grace states.

"Oh definitely not," Mamrie laughs.

"Neither does the person you're gonna marry." Grace pauses and looks up at Mamrie's expression.

Wait, what?

"I'm going to get married?" Mamrie asks.

"Yup. And you're the one who is going to propose."

"Oh. Okay. That's kinda cool. A woman proposing to a man? I like it. Fuck gender roles!" Mamrie laughs.

"That is cool but actually, it's not a man you'll propose to."

Mamrie laughs because what? Of course it'll be a man. What is Grace talking about?

"Believe it or not Mamrie, but you will have a wife." Grace smiles, rubbing her thumb across Mamrie's skin again.

Huh. That's interesting.

"I just um, I just have one question," Mamrie says quietly.

"What is it?"

"Is she pretty?"

"She is absolutely beautiful, in your eyes." Grace says.

Mamrie smiles at this.

Grace closes her eyes once again and she can hear the wedding bells and she can see them standing at the alter. She's looking into Mamrie's gorgeous emerald eyes as she lifts the veil from her bride's face.

She doesn't normally have visions unless someone's future involves her directly. When she opens her eyes, she's crying. She can see other people's future but she's never been able to see her own and she's always wondered if she'd find love. Now she finally knows.

"Are you okay? What did you see? Is something sad gonna happen in my future?" Mamrie asks eagerly.

"No no. I'm just-" Grace wipes her cheeks with the back of her hand, "Happy tears."

"Oh. Good. But are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yes. I guess I just found something I've been looking for my whole life." Grace smiles while squeezing Mamrie's hand.

Mamrie holds eye contact with Grace for a moment and then jumps back when she feels the shock on her fingertips again.

"Oh geez. I'm sorry. That doesn't usually happen. I guess it's a sign that we should stop." The taller girl laughs.

"Okay. Thank you so much, by the way! You answered all my questions." Mamrie stands up.

"My pleasure. Thank you for coming in today." Grace pauses, contemplating what to say next, "Hey, would you want to go out sometime? For coffee or drinks or something?"

"Like as a date?" Mamrie furrows her brows.

"Yes."

Didn't she just say I'm going to fall in love and propose to someone? Why is she asking me out?

Wait. Could it be her? No. It can't be. Could it? Maybe.

The blonde's voice interrupts her rapid thoughts.

"It is."


	10. Shifted

[This is the final story in the Mace Halloween oneshots this year, so we're ending off with a bang. This amazing story came from none other than Oooooopartygirl enjoy!]

[ALSO, TRIGGER WARNING]

It was storming.

Of course it was. I bet mother nature was having a good laugh watching all the small kids run from door to door in the pouring rain unaffected by the weather if it meant getting even a small dose of the God sent thing we call candy. And of course here I am, a 31 year old woman settling in the nook of my window sill having just arrived at my house after a long day at work praying that the lack of light emitted from my house will drive the little buggers away from my door and in turn away from me. Call me bitter, but conversing with children? Not necessarily my forte.

Whack

I turned my head quickly to the bedroom door only to see a draft had caused it to close abruptly. I huffed a breath, annoyed at myself for being this overly scared on halloween and turned back to the window to continue my admittedly creepy, stalkerish observations of the community's behavior on this supposedly 'spooky' night. Although once my vision to the outside was completely restored, something caught my eye that had only become visible in the mere seconds it took me to look to the door and back. I wouldn't have thought much of it, it was just an owl after all, but the only owls I've ever seen have been brown with amber or yellow eyes. This owl, however, had vivid green eyes and was, red? But that wasn't even the weirdest part, the thing was staring right at me with those enticing eyes and its head was cocked slightly, as if it was observing my observation; Actually never mind that last part, it makes my brain hurt just thinking about it. After a weird staring contest that honestly could have lasted anywhere from 10 seconds to an hour, my body decided that my eyes were too dry and I needed to blink. But as I oddly enough expected, when I reopened my obnoxiously needy eyes, it was gone. I got up stiffly from my position on the window sill and made my way through the darkness downstairs deciding that a drink could do more good than bad at this point, before I headed back up to bed.

The next few days were uneventful. I got up, got ready, went to my boring ass job as a barista at a local coffee shop, went home, went to sleep and started everything all over again. What can I say? Times are rough. After I broke up with that selfish Hannah bitch a year and a half ago, I was left with nothing. She took my house, my car, my job, even my dog for Christ sake. I've had to start all over. I packed up with the little money I had left, and headed off from LA to the great white north. Canada is really as great as they say it is, sure it gets a little chilly especially in Vancouver where I live now, but other than that, it's perfect. They have the best accents, the best coffee, the best Timbits? Whatever those are, and of course the beautiful thing called poutine. I got up from bed and got ready with low expectations for the day. Once I arrived at Colleen's Corner which is the coffee shop I work at, I made my way inside only to be greeted by my favourite co-worker, Aubree.

"Hey Gracie, how've you been? It's been too long grasshopper, too long indeed." She mutered in what I assumed to be a completely failed Chinese accent as she bowed.

"Aubree, I'm fine thanks for asking and incase you were unaware, I literally saw you yesterday, and are you ever going to give up the grasshopper thing? I've been working here for a over a year, you're hardly my master dragon anymore."

"Excuse me!" She fake gasped and clutched her chest as if she was truly hurt by my words, "I could not foresee your betrayal, oh grasshopper how you hurt me so" She removed her hand from her heart and brought the back of it to her forehead dramatically.

"Bree, really?" I bit lip trying hard not to laugh and encourage her juvenile behavior. "Just stop calling me grasshopper, it's simple really, no need to make a big deal over it."

"Can I call you grassy?"

"No."

"Hopper?"

"No."

"Hoppy?"

"Bree, I'm warning you. If you don't stop, I will have no choice but to make out with you right here, right now." I said calmly while crossing my arms, knowing the lesbian card always worked with her.

"Eww. Get those lesbian hands away from me," She joked, "you know as well as I do I'm as straight as... As, a-, uh.. As... A branch!" She nearly shouted proudly.

"Really Bree? A branch? Branches aren't always straight you know, a better expression is pole, you're as straight as a pole."

"Right, you heard branch? Turn your hearing aids up Hoppy, I definitely said pole."

"I gave you fair warning Bree, remember that." I said with a smirk, inching my way towards her.

"Wait! Gracie, Gracie bear, please," She raised her hands in defence and started backing away. "Think about what you're doing Grace, I'm too young to die!"

"Well no one said anything about death Aubree, now come back here before I-" I was cut off by someone clearing their throat behind me, and judging by the largely decreased severity of Aubree's terrified expression, I knew exactly who it was.

"Why good morning Grace, if you're done harassing poor Aubree here, I would like you to actually do your job." My boss said in her I-mean-business voice.

"Aw come on Col," I tried, "let a girl have some fun will you?" I turned to face the infamous Colleen Ballinger, boss lady extraordinaire.

"No! Uh, I mean, no, boss it's alright, me and Grace will, uh, do work things. Actually I think I heard someone call me to the kitchen so Grace can work the till and the tables today. Great, nice chat, bye!" Aubree bolted to the back room, not sparing a second for me or Colleen to compromise her escape plan.

"You know what? I'm not even going to ask." Colleen said shaking her head with a breathy laugh. "Just do what she said and work the till for today Helbig, who knows, maybe you'll find a lucky lady and stop having to torture my employees huh?"

"Yeah whatever boss, just go back to your office and pretend to work why dontcha." I winked and scurried off only half as fast as Aubree, trying to get away before Colleen could come up with a comeback.

The rest of the day went pretty slow. I guess it takes a few days for everyone to run out of the caffeine and sugar they got on halloween and need to come here to get their fix. Colleen decided in retaliation for my 'rude' remark earlier, I had to close up shop for the night. Aubree had to leave along with all the other employee's for a variety of reasons and Colleen was long gone, perks of being the owner I guess. So I was left sadly all alone to clean up, count up and close up. I finished cleaning and counting the profit for today without much trouble, and headed to the back room to grab the keys to lock up. I grabbed the keys and was headed back to the front when I heard a loud crash, like glass breaking. With a rushed and sloppily thought through, thought process, I made the decision to check out what was happening, and if it was a robber like I thought, I would totally be able to chase them off (note the sarcasm). I ran to the front of the store and as expected there was a severe draft coming from the lack of a front window and a maybe 250 pound, muscular man dressed in all black climbing in through it. He was a little busy trying to break in to notice me, so I thought I would sign my death wish and call out to him.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" I shouted, praying he wouldn't hear the shakiness in my voice. He looked up at me quickly, maybe slightly scared, until he saw a petrified tiny 130 pound girl, then he laughed.

"Aw, baby you almost had me worried for a minute there" He said in a cliche gruff and scary voice, as he finished climbing through the window and started making his way towards the oh-so-mortified me, giving me a lustful once over.

"Mister, I- I call-, I called t-the police." I stuttered out while walking backwards and unfortunately, right into a wall. "Y-you better leave. P-please, please l-leave." My voice shook so bad I was unsure if he could even understand me. He laughed again and I lowered my head trying not to show the embarrassing tears that conveyed just how terrified I really was.

"Aw that's cute honey" His voice held malice and humor. "But unfortunately" he grabbed my chin, forcing my eyes to level his. "I don't believe you." I whimpered and he laughed again, his breath was alcohol ridden and nearly as harsh as his words. "How 'bout this beautiful" he pulled away slightly, so he could get a full face of horror when he spat his next statement. "If you make this easy for me, and show me where the money is," He paused, and leaned in to whisper the words in my ear with an evil smirk plastered on his face "I'll fuck you after I kill you." I whimpered louder this time and cried harder until there were no singular tears, just streams of moisture running from my eyes.

"No! M-mister, please-!" I was cut off by rough lips on my own, immediately seeking entrance into my mouth which I would never willingly grant. He laughed once again when I struggled against him.

"No? Fine then babe, I wanted to hear your screams anyways" He grinned wider and he looked down, watching his hand as it felt it's way to my upper thigh under my work uniform's skirt. He put the other calloused hand over my mouth to stop me from crying out and used his body weight to keep me pinned the wall. I thrashed around nonetheless and in a desperate effort to stop his advances, I bit his hand as hard as I could, until I felt the warm metallic taste of blood pool in my mouth, and as soon as he instinctively retracted his hand, I screamed as loud as I possibly could, trying to get the attention of anyone that could be near by. All too soon, his hand returned to my face forcefully and he breathed a laugh, his anger overcoming his lust, he raised his uninjured hand "You'll pay for that bitch!" I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact, but it never came. It was silent for a second and I was to afraid to move. Then there was a whimper. Wait, a whimper? It didn't come from me. My curiosity won over my fear and I opened my eyes. Can fear cause you to hallucinate? It must because what I saw was impossible. Directly in front of me, there was the man who tried to rob the place, with his hands grasping the furry red one wrapped around his neck. Yes I did say furry. There, in this little hole-in-the-wall cafe was a monkey? I don't remember getting hit in the head. The monkey growled and threw the now terrified thief back through the window he came from, landing with a sickly thump. I stared at the man for awhile, noticing the small and irregular movements from his bloodied chest. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon so I slowly turned to face the beast who saved my life. When my eyes met those of the animal however, it was an animal no longer. There, staring at me completely naked and slightly flustered, was a crimson haired goddess with green eyes that were all too familiar. Before either of us got the chance to speak, I noticed a wince as her head shape changed slightly.

"Uh, hi there." she said looking nervous. I just stared. This beautiful woman was completely naked in front of me, just saved my life, and had just changed from a monkey to a human. "Um, I understand you have a lot of questions right now, but, um, could I get some clothes first please?"

"Uh." Apparently my vocabulary has become that of a 4 year old in the presence of this woman. Great. She giggled hotly noticing she had no reason to be afraid and snapped to get my attention. "Um, uh, yea-, yeah sure, you can come to my place." My face turned as red as her hair when I realized what I said. "Oh! Wait, sorry I just meant-" I was cut off by another giggle and well manicured hands waving me off.

"Don't worry about it princess, I get it, no clothes here right? It's okay, I am beyond appreciative for your kindness and hospitality, and I would be even more so if you took me to your home" She spoke so precisely and surely, it was as if she had memorized this encounters dialogue before it even happened.

"Oh, uh yes, yes of course miss, you did just save my life after all. Can I ask you one question before we head out though?" I asked.

"Well I believe that in itself was a question, wouldn't you agree?" I hesitated, working out in my brain if she was correct. "Don't think about it too hard princess," She laughed at her own joke "I'll be nice and grant you 2 further questions before we leave."

"Oh, okay. Are you a shapeshifter?" Yes people, I watch tv, I know the only supernatural creature -unless there is a Pagan God I'm unaware of- that can change to a monkey, is a shapeshifter.

"Yes" She shrugged, like this wasn't a massive revelation in my naive human life. "You've got one more question there gorgeous, make it a good one." I silently cursed the woman for her blush worthy terms of endearment.

"Why a monkey?"

"What?"

"Why would you shift into a monkey?" She laughed again at that and shook her head.

"Out of all the questions you could have asked, this is the one you choose?" She held a grin though her face grew curious.

"Yes." Hey, if she was aloud one word answers so was I.

"Alrighty then." She sighed and readjusted her position to cover more of her body; I guess the answer was more complicated than I assumed and she didn't want to have to explain it twice with me staring at her body this whole time. Smart. "First of all, I would like to point out the animal I shifted to was an ape, specifically a chimpanzee, not a monkey." I rolled my eyes in hopes that she'd let my common misconception slide and return to her explanation, which she thankfully did. "Anyways, the main reason I chose a chimp, is its similarities to humans. Something you probably don't understand about shifting, is that it hurts, like big time. When we shift, we actually experience the bones, muscle, and tissue moving and breaking and realigning. For instance when I turn into an owl, for example," This caught my attention particularly, I narrowed my eyes at her knowingly but she just smirked, cleared her throat, and carried on. "Owls are pretty hard on me, they share very little in physical appearance and structure, with humans. The hardest part of that transition is the hollowing of bones, I'm used to bones breaking by now, but having the marrow and God knows what else, sucked out of them? Stings like a bitch. So when in a pinch, I usually go chimp mode because not much changes, yet I come out more intimidating, shocking and a lot stronger."

"Wow, okay so why were you at my house on halloween?" I asked surprisingly calmly. For some reason even though this whole situation scared the hell out of me, I felt I could trust this woman, and not only because she just saved my life.

"Aw too bad princess," She pouted her bottom lip with mock sympathy. "you ran out of questions." She laughed at my rejected expression. "Come on beautiful, we have a home to get to and clothes to find." She spun on her heel and walked out the door causing the little bell to ring and bring me out of my slight daze, she turned around to meet my eyes again but came out unsuccessful as my eyes selfishly trailed over her unclothed body. "The name's Mamrie by the way and if you're done checking me out, I would really appreciate to get going." I blushed madly at her words and tried my very hardest to avert my eyes from her completely.

"Uh, right. I'm Grace." I walked through the door past Mamrie towards my car ignoring the snickering coming from the only person behind me.

"Grace." She tried. "I like it. Can I know your last name?"

"Helbig." I answered, not really wanting a conversation about me, she was the shapeshifter after all.

"Grace Hell-big? You realize how easy that is to make fun of right?"

"No, no one's ever made fun of it before" The only nickname I ever got was grasshopper from Aubree, not even Hannah could come up with something the 2 years we were together.

"Ou this should be fun." She took a second to stroke her fake beard. "I'm thinking... Smellbig, that's my favourite. It's your new nickname."

"Whatever Mametown." I grinned at my own wit as we arrived at my car. "Just get in so we can go home."

"Welcome to my humble abode." I said to Mamrie as she walked through the door to my house. I was careful not to touch her in any way in fear of touching something I might regret not regretting.

"Humble indeed." Mamrie tried to cover with a cough, but gave her insult away with a telling grin

"Oh? And what is that suppose to mean Mames?" I smiled faux sweetly.

"Oh don't worry your pretty little head about it princess" She giggled while messing my hair, giving me a view I would not soon forget.

"How 'bout we get you those clothes." I turned and rushed up the stairs trying to clear my mind of the too highly inappropriate thoughts to be having about a girl you've known less than a day. I assumed Mamrie had followed me to my room by the giggling that followed me all the way there. "Just pick whatever you want from inside the closet." I gestured to the wardrobe's door I had just opened for her.

"I'm sorry to disappoint smellbig, but I'm already out of the closet" She laughed and entered the room not waiting for me to regain my composure she had ruined by her words. She is gay? Does that mean she likes me? I mean I get that just because she's a lesbian doesn't necessarily mean she is attracted to me, but I'm a wishful thinker. Sue me. Mamrie came out of my closet sporting an American flag onesie and a wicked grin.

"What is it?" I questioned her newfound cheery attitude.

"I found something." She giggled and I realized her hands were suspiciously behind her back. Oh shit.

"And what would that be?" I questioned again unsuccessfully hiding my fear. She moved her hands in front of her to reveal red lingerie panties with the phrase 'all about the bass' written across the ass. I sighed in relief that she had not found items for more lonely nights, if you know what I mean.

"Is that relief I see?" Mamrie asked with a smirk.

"No." I answered shortly hoping she'd drop it.

"I think it is, should I go back in and keep looking?" She started towards the door.

"No!"

"Come on let's have a look."

"Mamrie, No."

"Grace, yes." She mocked. I needed to think of something to stop her quick. I got up from the bed and yanked her arm around to face me. We both stood there for a moment registering my actions before I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into me, smashing her lips on to mine. I committed to the kiss, immediately enjoying the warm and soft texture her lips had. She took another second before tilting her head and smiling into my lips biting the lower one softly forcing me to try and suppress a moan. We both pulled away and smiled at one another for a second before Mamrie turned and headed towards the door to my room.

"Where are you going?" I asked, wondering why she hadn't said anything about my oral assault. She didn't answer. She opened the door and headed down the stairs. "Mamrie?" She still didn't answer she just continued to the front door and opened it. "Mamrie! Please just-, just wait, please." She stopped and turned around; surprisingly her face held a huge grin.

"Can I stay here the night?" She tilted her head in a questioning manner. She was really confusing me, I thought she was upset with me, now she wanted to stay the night? Though who was I kidding, there was no way I was going to deny her.

"Sure?" I said as a question, hoping she would explain, but she did no such thing and shrugged already on her way back up to my room. After a moment of consideration, I decided to just go with it and see what she wanted to tell me. I opened my door to see Mamrie already in my bed laying on her back with her hands clasped behind her head. I groaned at the odd situation and changed into my pajamas before climbing in beside her and mirroring her position. "There is a spare room if you wanted that." She shook her head, her face still held a grin I couldn't understand. Finally she turned to face me.

"You have 2 more questions princess." She turned back and stared at the ceiling. Though this whole 2 questions thing was new to me, I already had 2 questions in mind.

"Why were you at my house on Halloween?"

"Because I saw you running into your house when I was flying by, for reasons I may never understand, you peaked my interest. I found your observing behavior odd, but refreshing. I haven't met many people who have that type of introvertedness that they want to watch, but not to be seen." Wow, this woman has super powers, is beyond beautiful, confident, and is suddenly so insightful?

"Oh, okay." I replied lamely, honestly I was too busy thinking if my next question was the one I really needed to ask right now.

"Go on princess." She encouraged. I took a deep breath.

"I guess this might be considered 2 questions but, if you liked the kiss," I studied her reaction, but she had none. "Would you, uh-, do it again?" I looked away in an attempt to save myself from her possible negative answer, but it didn't last long as Mamrie grabbed my chin and stared into my eyes with a still unreadable expression. She leaned in slowly and tilted her head, her lips meeting mine much softer and gentler than the last time. When she pulled away she wore her infamous grin.

"Did that answer your question?"

When I woke up in bed the next morning, I was almost confused why there was no one next to me, but then I remembered the inexplicably realistic dream I had last night and understood. I got ready like any other day and headed off to Colleen's Corner. I met Aubree at the door and hugged her.

"Aw Grace! It's been too long gra-, uh, girl." She greeted with an award winning smile.

"Bree knock it off, don't make greeting me like this a habit." I walked with Aubree to the back and grabbed my apron.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Hey sorry about ditching you yesterday, had to pick up a drunk little gay man."

"Tyler?" I knew the answer but thought I would ask regardless.

"Tyler." She confirmed. "Also you're bussing today so enjoy." She winked and walked back to the kitchen to probably do nothing but flirt with the chef, Chester. I grabbed my cloth and cleaner and headed out to the front to start a long day of cleaning. I made it to the front of the store to clean the windows, when I noticed that the main front window was spotless. No one had cleaned the windows in weeks and I'm pretty sure I saw a maple syrup stain on it just yesterday. I was so focused on the window, that I nearly failed to note the unforgettable green eyes of the red owl that landed on a light post outside. It took me nearly a full minute to understand what was happening, and when I did, the owl was already taking off. I watched it lift smoothly from the post with wide eyes and as it flew by. And just before it was completely out of sight, I could almost swear the damn thing winked at me.


End file.
